From Polish Jokes to Pulaski: Polish American Culture and Politics in Milwaukee, 1956-1978

Abstract

By the 1950s, most Americans of Polish descent were one or more generations removed from the "old country." In the eyes of many Polish Americans, this posed a problem for maintaining Polish cultural identity. Polish Americans in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s negotiated an identity not just through culture and Polish "tradition," but also through political activism. Polish Americans were not just concerned with maintaining a Polish identity but with being patriotic Americans. This essay will examine how groups such as the Wisconsin division of the Polish American Congress and Polanki, the Polish Women's Cultural Club of Milwaukee, promoted Polish American cultural identity during the mid-twentieth century.